The moment he stepped towards the second floor, space warped around him, and his vision dramatically expanded.
A rich, verdant green saturated his sight, while a gentle breeze, carrying the mingled scents of grass and earth, playfully tickled his nose.
Scattered across the landscape, adorable rabbits hopped and bounded.
“Oh, how cute.”
They appeared utterly charming and docile, no matter how one looked at them.
Yet, right beside them—
“Oh, stay back! I’m not your enemy!”
–Click!
BOOOOM!!!!!!!
“?”
A climber, whose expression had been one of intense fear, exploded instantly, along with the rabbit.
Immediately, a system window materialized before his eyes.
[You have entered the 2nd Floor – .]
[Clear Condition – Survive for 10 minutes.]
[※What you see is not all there is. Good luck.]
“So, there really are exploding rabbits, after all?”
Park Doyoon ambled leisurely into the open field.
Several of the bomb rabbits, sensing his presence, pricked up their ears, yet surprisingly, they showed no further reaction.
They neither fled nor detonated.
Maintaining a careful distance, he quietly began to observe their behavior.
The ability of his [Explorer] class activated, a power that allowed him to observe his targets deeply and derive precise ‘interpretations.’
“They explode when stressed, they explode when severely wounded… What truly peculiar creatures.”
Taking care not to stress the rabbits, he spent his time meticulously observing their ecology and habits.
In this manner, ten minutes passed in an instant.
[You have cleared the trial of the 2nd Floor!]
[As a reward, 5 ‘Bomb Rabbit Jerky’ have been granted.]
[A portal to the 3rd Floor has been generated.]
“Simple enough.”
Park Doyoon immediately proceeded to the next floor.
****
[You have entered the 3rd Floor – .]
[Please select your desired trial.]
[1. Milk 1L from a female Minotaur.]
[2. Dissect 3 Bomb Rabbits.]
“Oh?”
This time, the atmosphere was undeniably different.
Beyond the ranch fence, massive Minotaurs, flaunting their colossal physiques, leisurely tore into chunks of meat.
Other climbers, having arrived on the third floor via portals or warp points, were bustling about in front of the Minotaurs.
“There, there… good boy? Come here?”
One climber attempted to coax a Minotaur with a piece of jerky, but the beast, seemingly sated, merely turned its head, exhibiting no interest whatsoever.
Nearby, another climber was hunched over, diligently milking.
“Good heavens… I’ve lived this long only to find myself milking a Minotaur…”
Some climbers couldn’t help but burst into laughter at the peculiar sight.
“So, you want to try dissecting rabbits?”
“Ack! I tried that last time and blew up!”
After observing the other climbers’ reactions, Park Doyoon considered the two available options.
“Perhaps… I should take a slight risk here?”
Leaving the Minotaur ranch behind, he quietly made his way towards the rabbit dissection zone.
At the center of the rabbit dissection zone stood a freezer, inside which unprocessed bomb rabbit carcasses lay neatly arranged.
With their fluffy fur and plump bodies, they appeared utterly harmless and adorable to any observer, yet each was, in fact, a bomb.
Just then, a maid who had been waiting near the dissection area approached him.
“Have you come to dissect the bomb rabbits? Allow me to guide—”
“It’s fine, I already have a general understanding of the dissection method.”
While he would typically have listened to a full explanation, the knowledge gained from his ten-minute observation of the bomb rabbits emboldened him to proceed directly.
“Is that so? In that case, please put on these sanitary gloves and proceed with the dissection at the designated station!”
After donning the sanitary gloves, Park Doyoon carefully placed a single bomb rabbit onto the cutting board.
His fingertips traced a gentle path along the rabbit’s back.
Beneath the fluffy pelt, the contours of the spine were precisely discernible.
The seventh vertebra.
A small, hardened nodule, protruding slightly like a tiny bump.
“The explosion trigger, the sole point where an external physical stimulus can prevent its detonation.”
Park Doyoon took a deep breath.
From a distance, several climbers who had been observing began to stir with murmurs.
“What… is he actually going through with it?”
“Just one tiny mistake, and it’s over with a bang… Who is that person?”
Then, someone spoke in a hushed tone.
“That’s Park Doyoon. The [Explorer] class, ranked 35th among world climbers.”
In that instant, the entire atmosphere shifted.
Everyone held their breath, captivated.
Park Doyoon carefully balanced his hands.
With his thumb and forefinger, he precisely gripped the protrusion on the seventh vertebra, applying shallow pressure at a perfect angle.
Click.
A minute, delicate sound.
And… nothing happened at all.
The bomb rabbit did not detonate.
“Okay.”
He immediately picked up a dissection tool.
He made a precise incision along the abdomen.
His movements were steady and fluid, devoid of any tremor or hesitation.
As the abdomen opened, a smooth, spherical structure emerged amidst the pink internal organs.
It was the ‘bomb pouch,’ intact and unexploded.
Park Doyoon picked up the tweezers and clear container that had been prepared beside him.
He meticulously separated each nerve tissue surrounding the bomb pouch.
As if performing a delicate tumor removal surgery, he severed the connective tissues, calculating each angle with mechanical precision before extracting it.
Fifteen seconds later—
The bomb pouch rested cleanly within the transparent container.
A system window then appeared.
[Bomb Rabbit Carcass (Perfectly Dissected)]
[Dissection Grade: S+]
“This much is child’s play.”
The remarkable precision of his dissection was entirely due to the knowledge and power bestowed by his [Explorer] class.
It was the power to explore, analyze, interpret, and ultimately achieve the desired outcome.
Given its capacity to explore anything, the class imposed no equipment restrictions or penalties.
It was, truly, a class brimming with infinite possibilities.
Exclamations of awe erupted from the surrounding climbers.
“Wow… that dissection was absolutely perfect…”
“It really is Park Doyoon. To succeed at that in one go…”
“Who knew dissecting a rabbit could look so cool?”
Listening to the other climbers’ exclamations, Park Doyoon swiftly dissected the remaining two bomb rabbits as well.
[You have cleared the trial of the 3rd Floor!]
[Having cleared the ‘Bomb Rabbit Dissection’ trial, your reward has been altered!]
[As a reward, 3 ‘Rabbit Grenades’ have been granted.]
[A portal to the 4th Floor has been generated.]
‘Rabbit Grenades’ were grenades crafted by modifying the bomb rabbits’ internal pouches.
They would not detonate until their pins were pulled, and while their destructive power was less than that of the original bomb rabbits, they inflicted a ‘wide-area stun’ debuff at the epicenter of the blast.
“Not bad at all.”
Having collected his reward, Park Doyoon promptly set off for the fourth floor.
****
Upon entering the next floor, a strangely humid air, accompanied by an unfamiliar scent, wafted towards him.
[You have entered the 4th Floor – .]
[Please select your desired trial.]
[1. Shear the wool from 1 Shear-Spider (Difficulty: Very Easy)]
[2. Capture a Venomous Shear-Spider (Difficulty: Medium)]
Park Doyoon narrowed his eyes, surveying his surroundings.
Something resembling sheep’s wool swayed softly in the breeze.
Yet, it was neither wool nor, for that matter, a sheep.
Instead, a colossal spider monster stood before him.
It possessed the head of a sheep and the body of a spider, complete with eight eyes, and its entire form was densely covered in spiderwebs that resembled sheep’s wool.
“Oh, for heaven’s sake.”
Even he, with his notoriously catastrophic sense of fashion, found himself grimacing at the sight.
The only saving grace was its docile, non-aggressive nature.
Consequently, most climbers opted for the safer wool-shearing trial.
So, which trial would be the better choice this time?
Shear-Spider shearing? Or Venomous Shear-Spider capture?
Honestly, he wanted to do neither.
However, to clear the trial, he was compelled to choose one.
“I’d rather capture it.”
Park Doyoon immediately moved towards the area where the Venomous Shear-Spiders resided.
He received an explanation from the maid waiting near the Venomous Shear-Spider enclosure.
“The trial is simple. Enter that enclosure, subdue one Venomous Shear-Spider, then use this cloth and rope to completely cover its head and bind all its legs. Success is achieved by transporting it out of the enclosure in that state.”
“Are there any other precautions I should be aware of?”
“Yes, there are a few important warnings. When a Venomous Shear-Spider recognizes a natural predator, it will spray a powerful, lethal venom that melts its opponent.”
“That sounds quite terrifying.”
“Furthermore, the web-like wool covering its body secretes a sticky, sweet-smelling substance that also contains a paralyzing venom. Insects and small animals are lured into this scent, trapped within the wool, and slowly consumed later.”
“So, it’s safe to assume humans would also be paralyzed?”
“Precisely. If you accidentally touch its wool with bare hands, you could experience full-body paralysis, so you must be extremely careful.”
“…Then, what about killing it during the capture process?”
“That is possible. However, all Venomous Shear-Spiders are affected by the [Angel’s Blessing (Livestock)] buff, meaning they will revive on the spot five minutes after death. Please keep this in mind.”
“Wait, Livestock? What kind of buff is that?”
“[Angel’s Blessing (Livestock)] is a permanent buff that only grants disease alleviation and resurrection effects. Its advantages are unlimited duration and repeated resurrections without restriction. However, natural death due to aging cannot be revived.”
“Oh, really…?”
The maid additionally informed him that the bomb rabbits on the second floor and the Minotaurs on the third floor were all also affected by the [Angel’s Blessing (Livestock)] buff.
Apparently, before they could be fully butchered, a process to remove the buff was required.
Indeed, the deeper he delved into this tower, the more bizarre and intriguing information ceaselessly poured forth.
Having heard all the explanations, Park Doyoon received the capture cloth and rope from the maid and entered the Venomous Shear-Spider enclosure.
Immediately, a ferocious-looking purple Shear-Spider approached and roared at him.
“GUUUUUU!!!!MEEEEEE!!!!”
“Ugh, my eardrums.”
Before the Venomous Shear-Spider could attempt anything, Park Doyoon threw a Rabbit Grenade, its pin already pulled.
–BOOOOM!!!!
Simultaneously, the ‘wide-area stun’ effect activated, stunning the Venomous Shear-Spider, while Park Doyoon, protected by his [Curse Shield] which blocked debuffs, remained unaffected.
Immediately after, he successfully captured the Venomous Shear-Spider.
[You have cleared the trial of the 4th Floor!]
[Having cleared the ‘Venomous Shear-Spider Capture’ trial, your reward has been altered!]
[As a reward, 2 ‘Shear-Web Net Bombs’ have been granted.]
[A portal to the 5th Floor has been generated.]
At this point, Park Doyoon arrived at a conclusion.
‘With two options, choosing the harder one over the easier one yields rewards more advantageous for the next trial… Could this be an intentional design?’
According to his memories, the next floor was known to feature [Spear Bees]—human-sized bees wielding venomous spears.
They had a habit of stacking honey pots near their hives, so the core of the trial was to steal honey without being detected.
Alternatively, a direct assault to boldly take the honey was also possible.
If so, could the fifth floor also be easily cleared using these ‘Shear-Web Net Bombs’?
‘An experiment will surely provide the answer.’
Without hesitation, Park Doyoon moved to the fifth floor.
****
[You have entered the 5th Floor – .]
[Please select your desired trial.]
[1. Steal 1 Spear Bee Honey Pot (Difficulty: Medium)]
[2. Purchase 1 Spear Bee Honey Pot (Difficulty: Overwhelmingly Easy)]
The fifth floor’s trial was originally only to steal Spear Bee honey pots, but thanks to Tricia significantly lowering the difficulty, purchasing honey pots was now also an option.
Consequently, a maid was currently stacking and selling Spear Bee honey pots to climbers, priced at 4 Tower Coins each.
“It’s acceptable, but it feels a bit disappointing to clear it so easily.”
However, Park Doyoon immediately headed towards the Spear Bee hive.
And one minute later.
[You have cleared the trial of the 5th Floor!]
[You have cleared the ‘Steal Spear Bee Honey Pot’ trial!]
[As a reward, 5 ‘Spear Bee Honey Pots’ have been granted.]
[A portal to the 6th Floor has been generated.]
He had cleared the trial with ease.
To briefly explain what happened a minute ago: when he threw the ‘Shear-Web Net Bomb,’ the net spread widely, luring the Spear Bees with its sweet scent.
As a result, the Spear Bees that rushed into the spiderwebs were all paralyzed, allowing Park Doyoon to effortlessly collect the honey pots.
“Now then, the next trial… was it Mushroom Pig?”
Park Doyoon chuckled as he stepped into the portal leading to the sixth floor.
Less than an hour had passed since he set foot in [My Home Tower].
Yet, despite this—he had already reached the sixth floor.